Vending machine



J. FRITSCHE AND l. C. HADIK.

VENDING MACHINE. l APPLICATION FILED ,|UNE 25J 192i.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922i..l l I 4 SHEETS-SHEET i.

OWL/IVE. 242

ATTORNEYS ,lfFll'l'Sf-HE AND1. C. HADIK.

I' VENDING MACHINE. l APPLIcATIoN FILED IuNEzs. 192|.

1,437,970, l Patented D60. 5, 1922. 4 sHEETs-sHEE1 2. N

' y wTORS' ATTORNEYS l. FRITSCHE ANDI. HADIK.`

VEN-DING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, I92I. I 1,437,970, l Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

"ow we fa-/a F 6. 4.

Patented ec. 5, 1922.

il i

` rrr JOHN ritrfrscnn AND Josnrir o. Henin, orrHrLADnLrHIA, PENNsrr'rvrinrri; sein HAnrKAssIGNonro sain rnrrscrin y y VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed June 25, 1921. Serial No. 480,339.

To all whom t may concern.' Y

Be it known that we, JOHN Fnlrsorin, a citizen of the United States, residinor in Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, of Pennsylvania, and Josnri-i C. HADrK, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a newA and useful Vending Machine, of which the fol lowing is a specification. 1 i

Our present invention relates to a novel construction and arrangementof a vending machine which has been especially designed to vend towels, although as is apparent, it is not limited to such use and can be em* ployed in all cases wherein it is desired to vend articles in package form or where the articles can be strung on a supporting element. i i

In case towels are to be vended, they are discharged into a position accessible to the intending1 user for temporary use only, but if desired they can be discharged in such a manner that the purchaser is free to take them away with'him, and the same of course holds true in connection with any other desired article which is to be vended.

Vilith the above in view our invention in its broad and generic scope, comprehends a novel vending machine, which is preferably coin or check controlled and wherein is employed a novel construction of avending cabinet, novel means for supporting the articles to be vended within the cabinet; novel means for effecting the delivery'of an article into a position accessible to the purchaser, novel means for preventing the removal of more than one article at a time, novel means for rendering it necessary that the article delivery mechanism move its full stroke in order to effect the delivery of an article, and novel means for rendering the vending mechanism inoperative in case the articles have all been vended and in case the proper check or coin has not been deposited inthe machine. v i

It further comprehends novel means for vending a plurality of articles on the depo- 1 sition of a check or coin, one of said articles being of a liquid nature. I

lt further comprehends a novel construction of a vending machine wherein thearticles to be vended are given a lateral move ment within` the vending machine and then released so that they are permitted to drop to the bottom 'of the delivery chamber, which at such point is cut away to form an open-y ing into which the purchaser can reach in order to remove the article purchased for temporary or permanent use from the machine. i A

It further comprehends a novel construction of a towel supporting and retaining member, anda novel construction of a man ually actuated towel yor article delivery mechanismY co-operating therewith.

Other novell features of construction and advantage will hereinafter more fully appear in the detailed description of the invention a-nd the appended claims.

'For the purpose ofillustrating our invention, we haveshown `in the accompany- I ing drawings a typical embodiment thereof which is at present preferred by us, since said embodiment will be found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results. llt is, however, to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which our invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that our invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure l represents, in perspective, a

vending machine, embodying our invention.

Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure a represents, in front elevation, a portion of the machine with the doors in their open position.

Figure 5 represents a section on line 5 5 of Figure 4; l

Figure 6 represents asectionI on line 6-.-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 represents a section on line 7-7 of Figure'.V

`Figure 8 represents a bottom plan view of the articledelivery mechanism.`

Figure 9 representsan end view of a portion of the construction seen in Figure 8.l

Figure l() represents a section on line 10-10 of Figure 4l. l

Figure 11 represents in elevation a portion of one of the doors, showing more particularly the manner iny which the coil slot isA closed.

Figure 12 represents, in section, a plurality of towels, and a guide member employed to properly align the articles prior to stringing them on the article retainer.

Figure 13 represents, in sectional eleva tion, a plurality of the towels, with the article retainer and the article aligning member in the positions they assume during the placing of the articles on the article retainer.

Similar numerals ot reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings.

1 designates a vending machine embodying our invention. The vending machine is provided with a lower cabinet 2 having an open top 3 thereby forming a chamber to receive the articles which have been temporarily used. rEhe lower cabinet 2 is provided on the front with angles l and the rear angles 5 are secured thereto in any desired manner. The rear angles 5 carry at their upper ends the artic e receiving cabinet or casing 5 which contains the articles which are to be vended. This article receiving` cabinet 6 is secured to the rear standards 5 in any desired manner, for example, by riveting.

The article receiving cabinet 6 lor the articles which are to be vended is provided with a door 7 hinged thereto at 8 and with a door 9 hinged thereto at 10. When these doors are opened, the interior of the cabinet is readily accessible for the insertion of new articles to be vended or for inspection or repair of the operating mechanism, it being seen that the coin controlling mechanism is carried by the door 9. The top, bottom, rear end and sides of the cabinet 6 are closed. The door 7 is cut away in order to form an article delivery opening 11 and the door 9 in proximity to such o ening is provided with a guard 12 which preferably extends beyond the front walls of the doors.

The door 7 is provided. with an actuating handle 13 exterior oi the cabinet and operatively connected with locking bars 14, the

lower oli which is adapted to engage with the inner face of a flange 15, and the upper bar of which is adapted to interlock with a cross bar 16 which contributes with the upper fiange 17 to form a slot 18. rlhe door 7 is provided with a portion 19, see the lett-hand portion of Figure 4;, which overhangs the door 9 when the latter is closed, so that when the lock 2O is actuated to lock the door' 7 both of the doors 7 and 9 will be retained in locked position. The article receiving cabi- 'net 6 is provided with an article receiving chamber 21 which at its lower end is provided with an upwardly extending guard 22 in the form of a plate carried by the bottom and rear walls oi the cabinet 6.

The ctr-tick reta/incr.

The article retainer consists ot 'a longitudinally extending` bar 23 having a slot 2t extending longitudinally through it and opening through its top thereby forming the side walls 25 which are provided with notches or cut out portions 26 which at their forward ends form shoulders 27. rllhe for* ward end ot the article retainer 23 is provided with the downwardly and 'forwardly inclined terminal 28 which, as illustrated, is apertured to receive one end of a cable 29 secured thereto in any desired manner, li'or example, by means of a pin 30. lihe cable 29 passes through the article delivery opening 11 and into the chamber ot the article container 2 tor the used articles, and then passes up through an opening in the bottom of the article receiving cabinet 6, see more particularly Figure 1, and is secured therein by means of a pin or its equivalent 31. It will ot course be understood that the cable 29 may be omitted in case a permanent sale of the article is to be made instead ot a sale of the article for temporary use only.

For the purpose of illustrating one man,- ner in which our invention can be employed in practice, we have shown it as adapted to vend towels 32 which are reinforced by means of the grommets 33, which are strung on the article retainer 23. ln order to accomplish this, the door 7 has pivotally supported at 34, see Figure a, a smooth bar 35 which can be swung outwardly when the door 7 is opened, and the article retainer 23 brought into register with it, as will be understood by reference to Figure 13, so that 'the towels can be readily slid into position on such article retainer, it being understood from Figure 12 that the articles are lirst preferably assembled on the smootii bar 35 which acts as a guide bar.

rlhe article retainer 23 at its rear end, see Figure 6, is received in an aperture 3G in a block 37 secured in any desired man- C ner to a wall ot the article receiving cabinet 6. l

The bar forming the article retainer 2?', secured in position by means ot a screw 38, see more particularly Figui.l 7, which is in threaded engagement with the block 37 and is provided with a handle 39, whereby it may be readily actuated to effect the lool;- ing into position or the unlocking therefrom ot the bar 23.

In order to provide an additional support for the bar 23 so that it cannot become loosened or bent out ot shape by a carele s or malicious operator pulling on the cable 29, we provide a supporting member l0 in This supporting member 40, as best seen in Figure 5, extends beneath the article retainer 23.

Article remom'ng mechanism.

The top wall of the article receiving cabinet 6 has connected therewith a bracket 44, see Figure 6, through which passes a bar 45, the rear end of which is received 'in a plate 46 forming a support for the block 37. The bar 45 is secured to the bracket 44 by means of a nut 47. 48 designatesari article removing member which is in the form of a plate or slide slidable on the bar 45, and its forward end is slidable in the slot 18 and upon the cross bar 16. The plate 48 has an outwardly extending portion which is deiected to form a grasping handle 49, which as will be understood by reference to Figures 1 and 5ex'tends exteriorly of the article receiving cabinet 6. The plate 48 is provided with a clip 50, see Figure 6, which engages the undertace of the bar 45 which is preferably7 polygonal in cross section.

The article removing member 48 has pivoted to it at 51, see Figure 6, a lever 52 which is. provided at vits forward end with a hook 53 and at itsl `rearend with a pawl or detent 54. The lever 52 is acted upon by a spring 55 interposed between the plate 48 and the lever 52 ony the side of its fulcrum 51 which carries the pawl 54, so that the tendency of the spring `55 is to move the pawl 54 into engagement with the wall or" a recess 26 of an articley retainer 23. The lever 52 is provided with an upward extension 56 which contacts with the plate of they article removing member4 48 to limit y the movement of the lever 52 iii one direction. The bracket 44, see Figure 5*,'carrie's a. cam block 57 having the rearwardly and upwardly inclined face 58 which is provided with a slot 59 to receiver the lever 52 when it is in its initial position at the right hand end of the stroke of the article removing member 48. rllhe plate 48 oli article removing member has pivoted to it, at 60, a lever 61 having a tail piece 62 which contacts with the plate 48 to limit the rocking movement of the lever 61 in one direction, a spring 68 being provided interposed between the plate 48 and the lever 61. The lever 61 is provided with a yplurality of shoulders 64 and has the underface of its forward end inclined. The plate 48 also carries av cam 65 having the reversely inclined cam faces 66 and 67, respectively. If desired the plate 48 may be provided with the a-ntiriction rollers 68.

Mechanism for pre/venting the purchase of an article when the machtne @s empty. in order to prevent the operation of the machine when the last article has been 7 3 which is maintained in itsdownward pof sition by means of a spring' 74, one end of which is connectedto the lever'70 while its opposite end bears against the tree end of the arm` 73to retain such arm in the first recess 26 of the article retainer 28, see also Figure 6. The lastl towel to bevended is by the hook 53' and the inclined engaged lthe arm 73l raises :tace 75 passing under Lit out of engagemenit with a shoulder 27 ofv a recess 26` of the article retainer 23, sov

that a spring 76, see Figure l5A`will cause the rod 77 on which it isinounted and the lever 70 to which such rod is 'connected to move towards the left. rlhe spring 76 is interposed between afset collar 78 and an apertured through which the rod 77 passes. The 'free end of the rod 77 is bentlaterally and down-` wardly to 'form a hook 79, 4see Figure '11, which extends into a slot 80 oit a plate 81 which is adapted to cover and uncover the c oin slot 68, see more' particularly Figure 1. l A

spring 82, see Figure 4, has one end connected to the plate 81 pivotally connected to the door 9, and its opposite endis secured to a stationary portion of the machine such as,

of the spring is to move the platev 81 and to retain it in such positionthat the coin slot 68 willbe uncovered. When, howeventhe'plate' 81is actuated by the rod 7 7 upon the release of the lever 70,; the coinl slot 68 will be closed, as is apparent. 1` i. i

The coineontropllng mechanism.

by a spring 139 which tends to retain 'the pivoted side in its closed position.`

rlhe coin retainer 84 when in; position 'for'.

opera-ting has the bottom,y of the aperture guide bracket 132, see Figure 4,:

for example, the door9, vso that the tendency ii o Jthrough it closed by meansof a coin ,stopy V85 which, as illustrated in Figure 4,l consists olf an angle guided in a bracket 86y and having a shoulder forming recess 87 in its upper tace. Une end of the lstop 85 is pivoted at 88 to a lever 89 which is pivoted at 90 to y a plate 91 secured tothe door 9.

'92 designates the actuating handle extendin@ exterior of the door 9, see Figure 1, and connected at its inner end to a cani 93, see ligure the lower end 94E of which is adapted to enter the coin retainer 84 and press downwardly on the coin to effect the release of the coin stop 85. The Cain 93 has its upper end adapted to rock a lever 95, see Figure 1, which eiiiects the opening of the pivoted side 120 of the coin chute 83. rllhe cani 93 has connected to it one end of a spring' 90, the opposite end of which is con- .y nected to the plate 91, and the plate 91 has also connected toit one endl of a spring` 97, the opposite end of which is connected to the stop which also acts as a detent. l'llhe lever 89 has connected to it an upwardly eX- tending arni 98 which passes through a bracket 99, and its upper end terminates in a hooi; or projection 100, see Figure fl. rlhe arin 98 also carries a roller 101 with which cia-operates the inclined cain faces and 07 of the earn 05. y

The lever 89 automatically controls the vending of a ineasured quantity of liquid such as, Jr'or example, liquid soap, and 'for this purpose it has pivotally connected to it at 102 a lever 103, one end ot which nieves in the path of a stop 10e carried by tbe lever 89, and one end or a spring' 105 is connected tothe pin 104 while its opposite end is connected to the lever 103.

The ZvQuz'a/l 'vending mechanism.

rlhe lever 103 on its rnoveinent in one direction actuates a bell-crank lever 108, see Figures i and 10. l@ne end of this lever 106 bears against the under face 'of a cap nut 107 carried by a valve steni 108 which is guided in the liquid container 109. The valve stein 108 carries at its lower end a valve head 110 which controls the outlet port 111 of the liquid container 109. A spring 11.2 is interposed between the valve head 110 and the top ,wall of the casing of the liouid container 109, rllhe valve head 11.1 carries a plu L4er 113 which extends into the chamber 1145 of the measuringl cup-115 which iorins a part el? a valve casino` 110 which has a discharge pipe 11'? lea g to the niain discharge outlet 118 for the liquid to be vended. rEhe valve which controls the discharge oi: liquid from the measuring;` chainber 114tto the main liquid discharge outlet 118 is in the form of a spring pressed plunger 119 having a groove 120 which can be brought into register with the pipe 117 and the discharge outlet 121 from the measurine` cup 115.

or the purpose of receiving the valve 119, the valve casing 115 is apertured, 122, and a sp 123 is provided interposed between the valve plunger 119A and a o in threaded engagement with the v lv-e casing' 115.. A .st-rap 125 connected with the door 9 engages the nut 124C, as

will be best understood by reference to Figures land 10, so that the valve mechanism is properly braced. The coins passing troni the coin retainer pass into a money boi; 120, see Figure e, and if a coin is retained in the coin chute it passes therefrom, when the pivoted side 129 is opened, into a return chute 127 which is accessible to the intending1 purchaser through the aperture 128 in the door 9. A

The operation of our novel vending inaoliine will now be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains and is as follows:

The articles, tor example, the towels 32, are placed on the Aguide and aligning rod 35 and the article retainer 23 is then inserted through the ,grommets 33 as will be understood by Figures 12 and 13. The article retainer then removed troni the aligning` and guide bar 35, which is then swung into theposition seen in Figure 1l. LThe article retainer is then placed in the position seen in Figures l to 7 inclusive, its inner end extending into the aperture 36 in thebloclr 37, in which it is ioclred by actuating the han lle Vto rotate the screw 38. The loching` arin engages the walls oit the lirst recess 20 in the article retainer 23, as seen in Figure 6. 'lhe articles are now strung on the article retainer and the article removing ineinber e8 and its adjuncts are in the position seen in Figure 1, at the right-hand upper portion of the chaniber 21. The supporting plate 10 rests beneath the article retainer 23. rlhe cable 29 if employed passel through thedelivery opening 11 and is then passed through the bottoni .ot the article receiving' cabinet 6 land secured in position by ineens of the cotter pin or other fastening` device 31. The door 9 is iirst closed and then the door 7 and the door 7 is locked by a key, thereby etecting' the lool;` ing of both doors. lt will be understood that prior to the locking of the doors the liquid container 109 has been filled rwith the.

liquid which is to be vended. As the article removing ineinber t8 is nioved rearwardly into the position seen in Figure el, the cain will ride beneath 'the roller 101 thereby raising the arrn 98 and rocking the lever 89,v causing a shoulder of the recess 87 ot the stop and detent lever to interlock with the bracket 8G to effect the resetting of the locking mechanism. rl`he machine. is now ready for operation. rl`he operator places a coin of the proper denomination in the coin slot 58, and the coin passes through the coin ch te 83 into the coin retainer 84- in which it is arrested by the stop 85, see inore particularly Figure il. The intending; purchaser now rotates the handle 92 in the proper direction to rock the cain 93, thereby causingl the lower end 941 to press downwardly on the coinwhich is resting on the stop arm This downward pressure moves the free end ot the'arm- 85 downwardly thereby releasing it from the bracket 86, and the springv 97 causes the stop arm 85 together with the lever 89 whichcarries it to swing to the lett of the position seen in Figure 4. This causes the stop arm 98 to be drawn downwardly so that the hook portion 100 is out of the path ot the catch 61, see also Figure 9, so that thearticle removing member 48 is released and free to operate. fis the lever 89 swings to the lett of the position seen in Figure 4, the pawl 103 rocks the lever 106 to 4caluse the valve stem 108 and its valve 110 to be raised, thereby permitting the measuring chamber 114 to be lled with .liquid trom-the liquid container 109. The cam 93, see Figure 4, is operatively connected to the lever 95 toopen the pivoted side 129 of the coin chute 83 when the handle 92 is rotated in a direction to release the stop arm 98 from its engage-y ment with the lever 61 carried byv the article removing member. The purchaser now takes hold of the grasping handle 49 oic the article moving` member 48" and movesit to the left its full stroke, and as it reaches the limit of its forward travel the hook 53 willV pass into and lock witha grommet 33 of a towel 32. This causes the lever 52 to be rocked on its tulcrum against the action of the spring 55, so that the pawl or stop member 54 is lifted out of engagement with a shoulder 27 of the article retainer 23; The operator now moves the article removing member 48 rearwardly, carrying with it the lever 52 and the article which it has picked up, and as the pawl or stop 54 comes incontact with the inclined tace 58 it is moved upwardly so that the article which has been purchased and removed is released and' drops down the inclined terminal 28 into the chamber 21 in proximity to the delivery opening 11. It the cable 29 is employed,'th`e article is retained on such cable,v and, after use, drops into the lower cabinet 2 for the used article. lt will be seen that the Varticle removing member 52 `is slidable infand guided by the article retainer 23 and is also received in the groove 59 ofV the cam block 57, so that during its movement it tis at all times properly guided. lt the purchaser desires to obtain the liquid which 'he has purchased he pushes in the valve plunger 119,'

i so that the liquid will be delivered to him l 'from the main liquid discharge outlet`118.-

The return ot the article removing member 48 to its initial position at the. right hand end of its travel causes the cam 'to move in the path of the roller 101, see Figure 4, thereby raising the stop arm 98 into position to engage one of the shoulders 64 see also Figures 8 and 9 and at the same time thelever 89 is rocked, see Figure 4, to cause the stop arm 89to be moved into pomechanism is constructed in such a manner that t-he article removing member cannot-be.

sition beneath the coin retainer 84 and to interlock with the bracket 86 so that the machine is set for another operation.

It will be apparent that, if a person could 57 to raise the arm 7 3, see more particularly Figures 6 and 7, vthereby releasing sucharmfrom its engagement with the article re` tainer 23, and the spring`7 6 will cause 'the lever to rock on its tulcrum, thereby causing the plate 81" to be moved into such- A position that the coin slot 68'will be 4covered, under which condition it is impossible to insert a coin into themachine to eitect the release of the articlev removing mech-y ,A

anism. v

In the `foregoing description, we have de-.

scribed the operation as it takes place when the articles are sold for temporary use only. lf the articles are to be sold for permanent use, vso that they are to be carried away by the purchaser, the'operation is the same eX cept that the cable 29 is dispensed' with or has its free end disconnected from the inachine.

It will bessen that the artielefremoving returned toits initial or llingv position unless it has been given its full stroke on its forward movement so that it will engage with and remove an article, since otherwise va stop or pawl on the article removing lever will engage with the rack formed by the recesses in the article retainer The articles to -bevendedl are stored 1in the same chamber in which they are delivered, and the articles are supported lon. a longitudinally extendingk retaining bar,`

which is constructed in such a manner that when the articles are moved laterally along said bar they will drop by gravity and their own weight into a position accessible tothe purchaser.

The reason for employing shoulders 64-on the locking member 61` is to cause the manually actuated slide or plate to be positively locked as otherwise by a very 4 delicate operation it might be possible for ico al plurality of Y the intending purchaser tofmove the article n removing member to suchV a position that the first towel lwould be released before the article removing member was locked andthe article removing member would then rbe again moved forwardly to efflect'the removal oit` a second article or towelvso that one could obtain two articles for the .price of one. lt

will of course be understoor. that ill the parts are properly proportioned and arranged a single locking shoulder can be employed on the locking member (il and it is not necessary in all cases to employ a plurality ot such locking shoulders.

lt Will nouT be apparent that We have devised a novel and useful construction or a vending machine which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement ot the invention and the above description, and While We have, in the present instance, shown and described an embodiment thereof Which Will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that such embodiment is susceptible o1Ll modification in various particulars Without departing trom the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any ott its advantages.

Having thus described our invention, what We clam as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent; is:

l. ln a vending machine, a cabinet having a chamber Within which the articles are stored and Within Which they are delivered, an article retainer in the form of a raclr 0n which the art'cles are individually locked, a manually actuated article removing member slidable in said casing to eifect the release and removal of an article from said raclr, and means to loclr said article removing` member in its initial position and to effect its release therefrom.

2. ln a vending machine, a cabinet having a chamber Within which the articles are stored, an articleretainer in the form oi a rack on which the articles are individually lo'ked, and a manually actuated article removing member adapted to interlock with said rack and to be released from said racl: when in engagement with an article.

3. ln a vending machine, a cabinet having a chamber Within which the articles are stored, an article retainer in the form or" a raclr on which the articles are individually locked, Aa manually actuated article removing member adapted to interlock with said rack and to be released from said rack when in engagement With an article, and means to actuate the article removing` member to re# lease an article therefrom as the article reaches the end or said retainer.

a. vln a vending machine, a casing having a deliveryl opening, an article retainer sup" ported at one end in said casing and having means to prevent the removal ot' articles therefrom, an article removing member slidable laterally in said casing and having means to disengage an art-icle from said retainer, and means to etlfect the release oi an article from said article removing member. l'n a vending machine, a cabinet having a chamber in which the articles are stored,

an article support positioned substantially horizontally in said casing and on which the articles are normally locked, a manually actuated article removing member slidable laterally in said casing to bring an article into position to fall from said retainer, and means to actuate said article removing member when it reaches the point at which the article is to be delivered from said retainer t0 release it from the article Which it is removing.

6. In a vending machine, a casing having an article receiving chamber and a delivery opening', an article retainer Within said casing and on Which the articles are Strung, an article removing member slidable laterally in said casing and automatically interlocking With said retainer if arrested prior to the completion of its full stroke and released from its engagement With said retainer by its co-operation with an article thereon, and means to etlect the release of an article from said article removing member during its travel to permit the article to iall by gravity from said article retainer.

7. ln a vending machine, a casing having an article receiving chamber and a delivery opening, an article retainer supported Within said chamber, an article removing` member co-operating With an article to carry it to the delivery end of said retainer, and a cam in the path of which said article removing member travels to effect the release oi'v an article from said member When it reaches the delivery end of said retainer.

8. ln a vending machine, a casing having an article receiving chamber and a delivery opening, an article retainer Within said casing and with which the articles are normally individually locked, a manually actuated member having means to automatically lock it in .initial position, means to effect the unlocking of said locking means, and devices automatically actuated by said manually actuated member to render the machine inoperative When the last article on said article retainer has been f vended.

9. In a vending machine, a casing having an article receiving chamber and delivery opening, an article retainer supported Within said chambenamanually actuated slide slidable longitudinally of said member, a lever pivotally carried by said slide to engage an article on said retainer and carry it to the' delivery end of said retainer, and means in the path orp said lever to automatically actuate it when it reaches such delivery end to eil'octl the release of an article therefrom.

l0. In a vending machine, a casing having an article receivingchamber and a delivery opening, a manually actuated slide, an article retainer Within said casing, a lever carried by said slide adapted to travel in and be guided by said retainer and having means to interlock with said retainer, resilient means to cause such interlocking, said lever being unlocked trom said slide when engaged with an article on said retainer, and a cam to ef- :tect the release ot an article trom said lever when an article reaches the delivery end of said retainer.

11. In a vending machine, a casing having an article receiving chamber and a delivery opening, an article retainer in the form of a grooved rack supported within said casing, a manually actuated slide, a lever carried thereby and adapted to .travel in the groove ot said rack and provided at one end with a hooli and at the opposite end with a pawl to engage said rack, means to'cause such engagement, said hook when engaged by an article being moved into a position to disengage said pawl from said rack, and means to effect the automatic release of an article from said hook wheny the article reaches the delivery end of said retainer.

12. ln a vending machine, a casing having a chamber provided with a delivery opening, an article retainer in said chamber, a manually actuated slide laterally movable insaid chamber, means carried bv said slide to release and remove anV article from said retainer and carry it to the delivery end ot said retainer, and cam means to effect the release' ot an article from said means when the article has reached the delivery end of said retainer.

13. In a vending` machine, an article retainer in the 'form of a grooved bar having shoulders/on the wall thereof, and analigning and guide member adapted to be inserted into said groove, whereby the articles can be strung on said article retainer without contacting with said shoulders.

14. In a vending machine, an article i'etainer in the form of a grooved bar having recesses in the walls thereof forming shoulders, and a second bar slidable in said grooved bar and having a wall extending above the` shoulders, whereby articles can be strung on said bars without contacting with said shoulders.

15. As a new article of manufacture, the

herein described article retainer comprising a bar having a groove opening through a wall thereof, the sides of said groove being recessed to term a seriesot shoulders ex'- tending longitudinally the bar.

16. is a new articleof manufacture, the herein described article retainer comprising a longitudinally grooved bar, the side walls ot the groove forming a rack and the delivery end ot said bar being downwardly deflected.

17. As a new article of mamitacture, the herein described article retainer comprising a longitudinally grooved bar, the side walls et the groove forming a rack and the delivery end of said bar being outwardly deflected and provided with an aperture adapted to receive a cable. y

18. ln a vending machine, a casing having a chamber and a delivery opening, anl larticle retainerwithin said casing and supported at one end, and on which thearticles areindependently locked, a movable member carried by said casingv and extending beneathsaid retainer intermediate the ends thereof, means to edect thev release and removal of an article from said retainer, and

devices to render said means operative or inoperative.

19. in a vending machine', a casing having a chamber and a delivery opening,raii article retainer within `said casingja bar supportedrin said casinggvsaid casing having a laterally extending slot in a wall thereet, a manually actuated slide slidable in said slot and on said bar, a member/movably carried by said slide to release 'a towel from said? retainer and carry it to" the delivery end thereof, and means to eliect tne.v

release of an article from said.V member. when the article reaches the delivery en oi said retainer. Y. Y

2Min a vending machine, a casing having' a `chamberprovided with a delivery opening, an article retainer within said casing, lever mounted in said chamber, a spring actuated arm carried by said lever and retained in its. normal position by said retainer,'means toV eiieet the release and removal ot an article from said retainer and the release of 'an article `from said retainer and to move it to the delivery end ot said retainer, meansA to release an articley trom said slide when the latter reaches the delivery end ot said retainer, a locking member carriedby said slide, and a stop in the path of said locking member to interlock therewith when said slide is moved to its initial or starting position.

22; in a' vending machine, a casing 4hav-` ing a chamber provided with a delivery opening, an article'retainer within said ca-sing, anduon which'the articles are independently supported, a manually actuated Y slide, meansV carried thereby to effect the release of an article from said retainer'a'nd to move it to the delivery end of said' retainer, means to release an article 'from said member when the latter reaches the deliveryend oflsaid retainer, a locking inemv ber carried by said slide, a stop in the path ioo iioy

et said locking,` member to interlock thereivith when said slide is moved to its initial orstar position, and a cam carried by said slide to move said stop into locking position who. said slide is moved to its starting` position.

23. ln a vendins machine,l a casing having a chamber prov led with a delivery opening, article retainer within said casing, and on which the articles are independe tly sugported, a manually actuated slide, means carried thereby to eii'ect the release ot an article from said retainer' and te move it to the delivery end of said retainer, means to release an article from said member when the latter reaches the delivery end ot said retainer, a locking member carried by said slide, a stop in the path of said locking' member to interlock therewith when said slide is moved to its initial or starting` position, a cam carried by said slide to move said stop into locking position `when said slide is moved to its starting position, and means to effect the release ot said stop. n t

2d. ln a vending machine, a casing' havin` a chamber provided with a delivery opening, an article retainer Witl'iin said chamber in the form of a grooved rac-lr,

manually actuated means to remove an article from said rack, and a barcarried by said casing` and adapted to be received in the groove of said raclr whereby articles can be stro-.ng on said rack Without the rack portion interfering` with such operation.

25. ln a vending' machine, a casing having a chamber and a delivery ope reg, an article retainer in the form or' a bar extending; laterally in said casing and having' one end detachably mounted within said cha-ml ber, means to loclr said bar in position, the

terminal end of said bar being Within said chamber', manually actuated means to elfect the removal olf an article from said retainer to terminal end whereby it Will drop by gravity to the bottom of said chamber in proiiiility to said openingthrough which latter it is removed by the purchaser, and a guard ivitl'iin si iroaimitjig/ said opening to prevent an unauthorized to the articles Whicl'i person inning access have not l' een vended. v

26. ln a vendine hine, a casing,` having a chamber, wn in which the articles' are stored and vended, plurality of" doors cov i np; said side and one of which overlaps the other, one of said doors having` an article delivery opening communieatingwith said chamber, an article retainer terminating Within said chamber, manually actuated article removing` mechanisin slidable in said casing, and controlling mechanism carried by one of said doors to elif/ect the locking of said article delivery mechanism in its inoperative position and its release from its locked condition.

In a vending machine, a casing having a chamber, a portion of which is inaccessible to the purchaser and another portion which is accessible to the purchaser, an article retainer' on Which the articles are supported Within the inaccessible portion of said chamber, a manually actuated member, and a spring actuated lever carried by said member and adapted to be interloclred With said article retainer by the action of said spring and to be released from said article retainer While said lever is engaged with an article on said article retainer.

i 28. ln a vending machine, a casing` having' a chamber, a portion of Which is inaccessible to the purchaser and Aanother portion Which is accessible to the purchaser, an

y article retainer on which the articles snpported Within kthe inaccessible portion of said chamber, a manually actuated member, a spring actuated lever carried by said member and adapted to be interloclred with said article retainer by the action of said spring` and .to be released from said article retainer While said lever is engaged With an article on said article retainer, and means to actuate said lever to release an article therefrom.

29. ln a vending` machine, an article support, an article removing member slidably mounted and adapted to successively engage. the articles and carry them to delivery position,l and a stationary member izo-operatinc with said article removing` member' to etlef'ft the release of an article therefrom when it reaches delivery position.

Si). a vending; machine, an article support, an article removing,` member slidably mounted, guided by said support, and adapted to successively engage the articles and carry them to delivery position, and a stationary member co-operating with said article removing` member to etliect the release of article therefrom when it reaches delivery position.

31. ln a vending;l machine, a casing hav- ,ing an article receiving chamber, an article retainer in chan'iber, an article removing" member movably mounted relatively to said retainer and automatically interlocking` with said retainer il' arrested prior to the completi on ot its operative stroke and prevented `ifrom such .interlocking il an article being` carried by it, and means to effect the release oit an article from said article removinfr member.

JOHN lllt'l'lSCl'llll, JOSEPH C. l-lADll. lflilitnesses S. FAmBANirs, ll1 l.. NEWTON. 

